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[invalidsession]

My little flockof fourteen Buff Orpingtons have yet to lay an egg. They are now 20+ weeks old. It also appears that our large beautiful female ( Big Mama ) may also be "Big Papa" since it appears to show dominant behaviour and crows a lot Is it about time for them to start laying or could "Big Papa" be putting them off ? Another thing while i'm at it; the birds seem to prefer to gather together on the floor of the coop. Sometimes a couple will use the brood boxes to sleep in but mostly they huddle up in a corner and ignore the roosts. Another thing as well, they prefer the coop to the run for the most part during the day. Odd behaviour or normal at this developmental stage ?

Chris.

 

[gritsar]

Well if it crows it's a roo. He shouldn't have anything to do with when your hens start laying. 20 weeks is only a rough rule of thumb. Many of the larger breeds start alot later than that.
You really don't want them sleeping in the nest boxes when laying time comes. Sleeping in nest boxes = poopy eggs.
Make sure your roosts are higher than your nest boxes as chickens tend to get as high as possible to roost. You may have to go out there each night for a couple of nights and move them to the roosts. Using a penlight to see by works well since it will give you enough light to see but not enough light for them to "wake up" and start moving around again.

 

[invalidsession]

Quote:
Thanks for that information. The roosts are about 2 1/2' and 3 1/2' off the ground. 4"x 1" x 10' boards so plenty of room. They are also higher than the six brood boxes. Should I cover the boxes until they are ready to start laying do you think ?

Chris.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
It wouldn't hurt. Best to break a bad habit now while you can. Once they get used to sleeping on the roosts you could uncover them.